A group working to force a referendum on Gov. Ted Strickland's plan for slot machines at horse
tracks said it filed more than 177,000 new signatures yesterday.

LetOhioVote.org fell 27,065 signatures short of qualifying for a referendum when it initially
filed its petition Jan. 28.

If county elections boards find just 16 percent of the new signatures valid, the
slots-at-racetracks plan would go to the ballot in November.

"Once the secretary of state certifies that we've submitted the valid number of signatures,
Ohioans will have an opportunity to decide the slots issue," LetOhioVote.org treasurer Gene Pierce
said in a statement.

Last summer, Strickland announced that the state lottery would manage 17,500 video slot machines
at racetracks to help fill a $3.2 billion budget hole.

His plan was stopped by a 6-1 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that said the plan is subject to a
referendum.

LetOhioVote.org has spent more than $1.5 million to put the slots plan on the ballot.